Office of Economic Development | Town of Islip

Islip, NY – More than $5 million will be invested, nearly 20 new jobs created and 40 jobs retained, thanks to the unanimous approval of two separate Industrial Development Agency [IDA] inducement resolutions by Islip Town Board members today that will make way for one company to relocate and expand its business to Islip Town, while another, already doing business in Islip, plans to expand. These actions by the Islip Town Board are just the latest measures they have taken to attract and keep businesses in Islip.

Carson Optical, a leading designer/manufacturer of optical items, and M & M Canvas and Awnings, a designer/manufacturer of commercial and residential awnings, will be able to significantly grow their businesses because of incentive packages made available to them by Islip’s Industrial Development Agency [IDA]. The approval of the inducement resolutions pave the way for public hearings to be held for each company in the coming months, and if approved, will enable both businesses to enjoy a host of IDA benefits, including a 10-year abatement on property taxes and exemptions from mortgage taxes.

“This board is 100% committed to promoting economic development in Islip Town, and go to great lengths to ensure that qualified companies are aware of the variety of benefits of doing business here,” noted Councilman John C. Cochrane, Jr., Economic Development liaison. “At the end of the day, the more businesses located in Islip Town, the better for our taxpayers.” Carson Optical, the leading manufacturer of magnifiers in the United States, is currently operating out of 24,000 square foot facility in Hauppauge. Their positive experiences in Islip Town over the years led company officials to seek to expand and relocate operations to a 50,000 square-foot facility at 2070 Fifth Avenue in Ronkonkoma. Carson plans to invest more than $3 million to improve and equip the building so they can grow their business of researching and developing optical equipment such as telescopes, binoculars, and magnifiers, which can be found in retail stores including Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Radio Shack and Office Depot. A total of eight full-time jobs will be added as a result of the expansion, and 25 retained.

Twenty-five new jobs will be created and 15 retained with the relocation of M & M Canvas & Awning from its Huntington facility to a renovated 20,000 square-foot building at 180 Oval Drive in Islandia. Nearly $2 million will be invested in the project, which will enable M & M officials to meet the increased demand of their products, manual and motorized retractable awnings. The company has grown by 60 percent in one year’s time, which prompted the need to move from its current 11,000 square-foot facility.

“Carson Optical and M & M Canvas and Awning join a host of other companies that have benefitted from doing business in Islip Town, with support from our IDA. Literally thousands of Islip jobs have been created and saved over the last decade, because of Islip’s commitment to fostering economic development, a philosophy that this board whole heartedly endorses,” Cochrane noted.

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